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Articles

Volume 12, Number 1 (1987)

Image Juxtaposition in A Jest of God

  • B. A. Legendre
Submitted
May 22, 2008
Published
1987-01-01

Abstract

Even though A Jest of God is written in a narrow first-person-present narrative, Laurence does not abandon readers to Rachel Cameron's singular, grim vision. Indeed, Rachel is not solely negative; her fantasies, dreams, and semi-conscious preoccupations are alive with sensuality, glamour, and fearful excitement. Laurence reveals this hidden life to us through her own poetic gift: the use of rich imagery -- metaphoric language and situations, strong descriptive scenes, frequent Biblical allusions. Taken together, these techniques illuminate Rachel's world and character, explain her slow change, and explicate the novel's major thematic issues. Laurence rescues the first-person narrator through imagery, that is, through the sequential or simultaneous juxtaposition of positives and negatives, sometimes overt, sometimes subtle, often incrementally suggestive.